Swimming pool cleaning device including a removable filter device

ABSTRACT

Swimming pool cleaning apparatus may include a cleaning unit intended to be immersed in a swimming pool and at least one liquid filter circuit between at least one liquid inlet and at least one liquid outlet via a filter chamber removable from the body of the cleaning unit. The filter chamber may include a cover and a filter basket. The cover may include components for fastening the filter basket and locking the filter chamber to the body of the cleaning unit. The locking component may be releasable and, when released, may cause an extraction handle to be deployed from the filter chamber and urged toward a predetermined position.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/797,174, filed on Oct. 30, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/440,475, filed on May 4, 2015, which is aU.S. national phase under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International PatentApplication No. PCT/FR2015/050868, filed on Apr. 2, 2015, which claimspriority to French Patent Application No. 14/53023 filed on Apr. 4,2014, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein byreference.

The present invention relates to swimming pool equipment. It moreparticularly concerns swimming pool cleaning apparatus including adevice for cleaning the filter without the user having to soil theirhands.

PREAMBLE AND PRIOR ART

The invention concerns apparatus for cleaning a surface immersed in aliquid, such as a surface formed by the walls of a pool, notably of aswimming pool. It is notably a question of a mobile swimming poolcleaning robot. Such a cleaning robot performs said cleaning bytravelling over the bottom and the walls of the swimming pool, brushingthose walls, and aspirating the debris toward a filter. Debris means allthe particles present in the pool, such as fragments of leaves,micro-algae, etc., this debris normally being deposited on the bottom ofthe pool or stuck to the lateral walls thereof.

The robot is most usually supplied with power by an electrical cableconnecting the robot to an external control and power supply unit.

There are known, for example, in this field, the Applicant's patents FR2 925 557 and 2 925 551 that are directed to immersed surface cleaningapparatus including a removable filter device. Such devices comprise abody, members for driving said body over the immersed surface, a filterchamber in the body and including a liquid inlet, a liquid outlet, aliquid circulation hydraulic circuit between the inlet and the outletvia a filter device. In these two patents, the filter device isremovable to enable emptying out of the leaves and other debris withouthaving to turn over the cleaning apparatus.

This apparatus includes automatic programs for cleaning the bottom ofthe pool and possibly the lateral walls of the pool. Such a programdetermines cleaning of the swimming pool in a predetermined time, forexample one and a half hours. The robot is generally removed from thewater by the user at the end of the cycle or at regular intervals, whenthe filter is too full of particles (leaves, micro-particles, etc.), toclean it. In recent designs, the external control and power supply unitof the robot emits a luminous signal when this operation of cleaning thefilter must be carried out.

In most modern swimming pool cleaning robot designs, cleaning the filterobliges the user to remove the filter from the robot and then to emptyit and to wash it in plenty of water. These operations most often bringthe user into contact with the filter sludge, which is disagreeable andnot very hygienic.

A notable object of the invention is to remedy some of these drawbacks.

The invention is also directed to swimming pool cleaning apparatus wherecleaning the filter is greatly simplified.

The invention is also directed to swimming pool cleaning apparatus inwhich the consumption of energy is low.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first aspect of the invention consists in swimming pool cleaningapparatus comprising:

a. a handle that is able to move between a first position and a secondposition;

b. means for retaining the handle in the first position, and

c. means for urging the handle towards the second position.

Here “swimming pool cleaning apparatus” refers to apparatus for cleaningan immersed surface, i.e. typically apparatus mobile in or on the bottomof a swimming pool and adapted to collect and filter debris deposited ona wall. Such apparatus is commonly known as a swimming pool cleaningrobot when it includes means for automatic management of movement overthe bottom and the walls of the swimming pool to cover all of thesurface to be cleaned.

By an abuse of language, here “liquid” refers to the mixture of waterand debris in suspension in the swimming pool or in the fluidcirculation circuit in the cleaning apparatus.

The handle is advantageously fixed directly or indirectly to the upperpart of the body.

In one particular embodiment the apparatus comprises a body having anupper part that includes a recess such that, in the first position, atleast a part of the handle fits into said recess.

As a result, the hydrodynamic profile of the cleaning apparatus isimproved when the handle is retained in the first position and theapparatus therefore consumes less energy in order to move.

Moreover, in this position, a user cannot pull on the handle, whichmakes it possible to prevent untimely extraction, for example removal ofthe debris filter when the cleaning unit is operating.

In one particular embodiment the means for retaining are designed to bemoved manually so as to release the handle from the first position.

In another embodiment, possibly used in conjunction and intended toreduce the risk of inappropriate use, the means for retaining includeautomatic locking means responsive to the status of the cleaning unit.

In one particular embodiment the handle rotates through about ninetydegrees from the first position to the second position. As a result,said handle becomes perfectly easy to grasp in the hand and the force toremove the filter is perpendicular to the initial plane of the handle.

In one particular embodiment the swimming pool cleaning apparatusfurther includes a body and a debris filter, at least a part of thedebris filter being positioned in a chamber of the body when thecleaning unit is in use and the filter basket being removable from thehousing in the body of the cleaning unit by pulling on the handle whenthe handle is in the second position. This embodiment corresponds to theuse of such a retractable handle for inserting and removing the debrisfilter.

In this case, in one particular embodiment when the handle is retainedin the first position, the filter basket is fixed inside the chamber,and when the handle is in the second position, the filter basket isreleased from the chamber.

In one particular embodiment the handle extends approximately along thewidth of the body.

The means for urging comprise at least one spring, for example a torsionspring.

The cleaning apparatus advantageously comprises (a) a body, (b) meansfor moving the body in a swimming pool, and (c) a motor for driving themovement means.

In another aspect the invention consists in swimming pool cleaningapparatus comprising:

a. a body;

b. a debris filter, at least a part of which is disposed inside thebody;

c. an indicator, mobile from a first position to a second position, theindicator being visible from outside the body when it is in the secondposition, and

d. means for urging the indicator towards the second position when thedebris filter contains a predetermined quantity of debris.

In another aspect the invention consists in swimming pool cleaningapparatus comprising:

-   -   a cleaning unit intended to be immersed in the swimming pool,    -   at least one liquid filter circuit between at least one liquid        inlet and at least one liquid outlet via a filter chamber        removable from the body of the cleaning unit.

The cleaning unit advantageously comprises:

-   -   means for forcing a flow of water between the water inlet and        the water outlet via the filter circuit,    -   means for controlling movements of the cleaning unit.

The filter circuit comprises at least one filter chamber removable fromthe body of the cleaning unit, comprising:

-   -   a cover,    -   a filter basket.

The cover includes releasable means for fastening the filter basket andmeans for locking the filter chamber to the body of the cleaning unit.These means for locking are releasable and, when released, i.e. inpractice when the filter is dirty, cause an extraction handle to bedeployed from the filter chamber and urged towards a predeterminedposition.

As a result, when the user wishes to remove the filter basket from theswimming pool cleaning apparatus, they do not need to soil their handsthrough contact with leaves or debris contained in the filter basket.

The filter basket and the cover are advantageously removed from theapparatus by upward removal out of the body of the cleaning unit.

In this way, the filter basket is removable through the top of theapparatus. Thus a user does not need to turn over said apparatus toremove the filter basket. The cover therefore forms an upper part of thebody of the apparatus.

The invention also concerns immersed surface cleaning apparatuscharacterized in combination by some or all of the features referred toabove or hereinafter.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The features and advantages of the invention will be better appreciatedthanks to the following description, which describes the features of theinvention by means of a nonlimiting application example.

The description refers to the appended figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of swimming pool cleaning apparatusemploying a filter system as described,

FIG. 2 is a view of the same apparatus in section on a verticallongitudinal plane,

FIGS. 3 and 4 are perspective views of a filter basket fitted to theapparatus from FIG. 1,

FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views of a filter basket fitted to theapparatus from FIG. 1 with a cover including a handle for removing it ina deployed position,

FIGS. 7 and 8 are diagrammatic plan views of the same basket with andwithout the cover,

FIGS. 9 and 10 are side views of the same filter basket with and withoutthe cover,

FIG. 11 is a detailed view of the handle on the cover of the samebasket,

FIG. 12 is an exploded view of the same swimming pool apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ONE EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

The invention finds its application in a swimming pool technicalenvironment, for example a family type swimming pool set in the ground.

In the present nonlimiting embodiment, immersed surface cleaningapparatus includes a cleaning unit, referred to hereinafter as aswimming pool cleaning robot, and a power supply and control unit ofsaid swimming pool cleaning robot.

The embodiment of the cleaning unit shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is shown hereby way of example.

The swimming pool cleaning robot 10 comprises a body 11 and a drive andguide device comprising members 12 for driving and guiding the body onan immersed surface. In the present nonlimiting embodiment, these driveand guiding members consist of wheels or caterpillar tracks disposedlaterally of the body (see FIG. 1).

The swimming pool cleaning robot 10 further comprises a motor drivingsaid drive and guide members, said motor being powered in the presentembodiment via an onboard circuit card.

For the remainder of the description there is defined a frame ofreference X_(r)Y_(r)Z_(r) relating to this cleaning robot 10, in which:

-   -   a longitudinal axis X_(r) is defined as the axis of movement of        the cleaning robot 10 when the movement wheels 12 are driven        identically,    -   a transverse axis Y_(r) is defined as perpendicular to the        longitudinal axis X_(r) and situated in a plane parallel to the        bearing plane of the movement wheels 12 of the cleaning robot        10, this lateral axis Y_(r) therefore being parallel to the        rotation axis of the wheels,    -   a vertical axis Z_(r) is defined as perpendicular to the other        two axes.

The concepts of front, rear, left, right, top, bottom, upper, lower,etc. in relation to the cleaning robot are defined relative to thisframe of reference X_(r)Y_(r)Z_(r).

The swimming pool cleaning robot 10 includes a water filter circuitincluding at least one liquid inlet 13 and one liquid outlet 14. In thepresent nonlimiting embodiment the liquid inlet 13 is situated at thebase of the body 11 (in other words under the latter when the swimmingpool cleaning robot 10 is placed in its normal operating position on thebottom of the swimming pool), that is to say immediately facing animmersed surface over which the swimming pool cleaning robot 10 moves inorder to be able to aspirate debris accumulated on said immersedsurface. The liquid outlet 14 is situated on top of the swimming poolcleaning robot 10. In the present embodiment, the liquid outlet 14 is ina direction approximately perpendicular to the guide plane, i.e.vertical if the swimming pool cleaning robot 10 is resting on the bottomof the swimming pool.

The water filter circuit connects the liquid inlet 13 to the liquidoutlet 14. The water filter circuit is adapted to be able to produce aflow of liquid from the liquid inlet 13 to the liquid outlet 14. To thisend the swimming pool cleaning robot 10 includes a pump comprising amotor and an axial-flow impeller, said motor driving the axial-flowimpeller in rotation, said axial-flow impeller being disposed in thehydraulic circuit.

The swimming pool cleaning robot 10 is supplied with energy by means ofa watertight flexible cable. In the present embodiment, this flexiblecable is attached to the top of the body of the swimming pool cleaningrobot 10. This flexible cable is connected at its other end to the powersupply unit (not shown in FIG. 1) disposed externally of the pool, thispower supply unit being itself connected to the electrical mains supply.

In the present embodiment, the cleaning robot 10 further includes aholding handle 15 adapted to enable a user to remove the robot from thewater, notably when the filter must be cleaned. In the presentembodiment, the holding handle 15 is mobile between a deployed positionand a position folded against the body of the cleaning unit.

In a variant of this embodiment, a return spring of the torsion springtype is disposed on the axis of the holding handle 15 and urges theholding handle towards its folded-away position. In this way, thehydrodynamic resistance of the cleaning unit when moving in water is lowand the electrical consumption of the apparatus is therefore low.

In one particular embodiment the cleaning robot includes means enablingrapid emptying of the water contained in its internal filter chamberwhen it is removed from the water. Such devices are described forexample in the Applicant's patent application EP 2 235 291.

The swimming pool cleaning robot 10 comprises a filter chamber 16 in thewater filter circuit between the liquid inlet 13 and the liquid outlet14. The filter chamber is in particular fed with liquid via at least oneupstream channel connecting the liquid inlet 13 to the filter chamber 8.Each upstream channel opens into the filter chamber 16 via a feedopening. Here the feed opening is fitted with a check valve.

In the present embodiment, the filter chamber 16 comprises a filterbasket 17 notably shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and a cover 18 notably shown inFIGS. 5 and 6, forming the upper wall of the filter chamber 16 andforming an integral part of the exterior surface of the body 11 of thecleaning unit 10. This removable cover 18 enables a user to access thefilter basket 17 in the filter chamber 16 to clean the filter when thisproves necessary.

Here the filter basket 17 forms the bottom and the inner and outerperipheral walls of the filter chamber 16.

In one particular embodiment the axial-flow impeller driving the flow ofwater in the filter circuit is disposed along a vertical axis that isapproximately centrally located in the body 11 of the cleaning unit. Inthis case the liquid outlet 14 is situated in the middle of the cover18. In this embodiment the central part of the filter basket 17 includesa central filter wall 19 surrounding a cowling of the axial-flowimpeller.

In the nonlimiting embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the filter basket17 then has a parallelepipedal overall shape with an opening through itformed by the central filter wall, intended to be placed around thecowling of the axial-flow impeller and the electric motor. In additionto the central filter wall 19, the filter basket 17 includes a lowerfilter wall 20 and external lateral filter walls 21, thus beingconformed as a rectangular parallelepiped with no top face, said facenormally being formed by the cover 18, the central part of said filterbasket 17 including the central filter wall 19 oriented along an axisperpendicular to its lower face 20, this axis coinciding here with thevertical axis Z_(r) of the cleaning unit 10. In the present embodimentthe central filter wall 19 is of frustoconical shape, wider at thebottom than at the top (near the cover 18).

In the present nonlimiting embodiment the filter basket 17 includes afine-mesh surface forming the filter as such, welded, glued or attachedby other means to a perforated rigid armature 22.

The filter chamber 16 is removable, i.e. it can be removed from andinserted in the body 11 of the apparatus. To this end the body 11 of theapparatus includes a housing into which the filter basket 17 can beinserted, the cover 18 establishing continuity with the exterior surfaceof the body 11 of the apparatus. The fact that the filter basket 17 isremovable makes it easy to empty, notably without having to manipulatethe entire cleaning unit.

The filter basket 17 is removably fastened to the cover 18 in order tofacilitate cleaning the filter basket 17 of debris accumulated therein.

The cover 18 is hermetically sealed to the filter basket 17 in order toprevent leaking of liquid charged with debris. In one nonlimitingembodiment the cover 18 includes a peripheral ring adapted to cooperatewith an edge of the filter basket. As a result, debris remains insidethe filter basket 17. In a variant embodiment, the cover 18 includes aperipheral seal (not shown in the figures) that comes to bear on theedge of the filter basket 17.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 12, the cover 18 forms an upper portion of theouter wall of the body 11 of the cleaning unit 10 when the filter basket17 is inserted in the housing of said cleaning unit. The cover 18 has ashape corresponding to the lateral shape of the filter basket 17, saidshape possibly being pierced at its centre in order to provide a passagefor the cowling of the axial-flow impeller whose upper end forms theliquid outlet 14.

In the present embodiment shown in FIG. 12 the cover 18 includes lockingmeans on the top of the filter basket 17 in the form of two lugs 23 thatcan be actuated manually, disposed under the longitudinal edges of saidcover 18 (see FIG. 12) and including return means 24. These lugs 23close over housings in the top longitudinal edges of the rigid armature22 of the filter basket 17. By way of nonlimiting example, the returnmeans 24 are of the torsion spring type.

As a result, by depressing the two lugs 23 simultaneously, a userseparates the filter basket 17 from the cover 18. They can then graspthe rigid armature 22 of the filter basket 17 by its longitudinal edges,for example at the location of the housings corresponding to the lugs23, and manipulate said filter basket without having to come intocontact with the filtration sludge, localized at the level of the filtersurface. The user can therefore turn over the filter basket 17, empty itand then wash it in plenty of water, still without coming into contactwith the filter sludge.

The cover 18 also includes means for locking it to the body 11 in theform of two lateral slides 25 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) configured in the formof circular arc conduits, these slides 25 being fastened to the arms 26of an extraction handle 27 mobile between an approximately horizontalposition (plane X_(r)Y_(r)) and an approximately vertical position(plane Y_(r)Z_(r)). The two lateral slides 25 are disposed one on eachside of the cover 18 (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

These two lateral slides 25 cooperate with two semicircular recesseseach including a central stud, said recesses being formed in the lateraledges at the top of the body 11. They also correspond to twosemi-cylindrical lateral edges 28 of the filter basket 17. As a result,when the cover 18 is disposed on the filter basket 17 and on the body11, the lateral slides 25 of the cover 18 are positioned on thesemi-cylindrical edges 28 of the filter basket 17, coming to bear on thesemicircular recesses of the body 11, as can be seen in FIGS. 11 and 12.

Clearly the central stud slides in the circular arc conduit of thecorresponding lateral slide 25 and, depending on whether the extractionhandle 27 is vertical or horizontal, the central stud is released orlocked into the circular arc conduit. The filter chamber 16 comprisingthe filter basket 17 and the cover 18 is therefore fastened to orreleased from the body 11 of the cleaning unit 10, depending on whetherthe extraction handle 27 is horizontal or vertical.

When horizontal, the extraction handle 27 fits in and is at leastpartially inserted in a recess 29 (see FIGS. 5, 6, 10) provided for thispurpose in the upper surface of the cover 17. In this position, theextraction handle 27 is held in place on the cover 18 by a retainingdevice 30 (see FIGS. 8 and 10). Here this retaining device 30 takes theform of a wide button that can be actuated manually, mobile in rotationabout a transverse axis (axis Y_(r)) between a first position and asecond position, urged towards the first position by a torsion spring,and a part of the central lower surface of which is then located above acorresponding part of the surface of the extraction handle 27, thereforelocking the latter.

A torsion spring (not visible in the figures) is mounted between thecover 18 and the extraction handle 27 at the articulation points of thearms 26 of the extraction handle 27. This torsion spring is configuredto urge the extraction handle towards its vertical position, whilstenabling a user of normal strength to push said extraction handle 27easily towards its horizontal position.

As a result, when the mobile handle 27 is moved to the verticalposition, the cover 18 and the filter basket 17 can be removed from thebody 11 by the user. The extraction handle 27 is locked by the retainingdevice 30 on the cover 18 when the filter basket 17 is inserted in thebody 11 to prevent any risk of the filter basket 17 moving when thecleaning unit 10 is in operation.

Variants

In a variant embodiment the holding handle 15 is further mobile betweena deployed position and a position folded against the body of thecleaning unit.

A torsion spring type return spring on the axis of the holding handle 15urges the holding handle toward its deployed position. When it ispositioned in the folded-away configuration (not shown in the figures),said holding handle 15 is held in place by means for retaining (also notshown) that can be actuated manually.

In a variant embodiment, the extraction handle 27 is mobile between afirst position and a second position for any service requirement, forexample to change a worn part.

In another variant embodiment the swimming pool cleaning unit 10comprises an indicator moveable from a first position to a secondposition, the indicator being visible from outside the body 11 when itis the second position, and means for urging the indicator towards thesecond position when the debris filter contains a predetermined quantityof debris.

In another variant embodiment the swimming pool cleaning unit 10comprises a handle moveable from a first position to a second positionand means for urging the handle towards the second position, these meansbeing activated for example by a debris filter filling level sensor orby a battery level sensor in the case of a battery-powered cleaningrobot. As a result, the high position of the handle is a visualindicator of the need for maintenance of the cleaning unit that ishighly visible to the user.

1. A method of removing a filter device from a body of a swimming poolcleaning device, comprising: a. positioning the filter device at leastpartly within the body so that a handle of the filter device is in afirst position in which it cannot be grasped by a user; b. causing thebody to move within a swimming pool; c. interacting with the body so asto cause the handle, under influence of an urging means, to move fromthe first position to a second position in which it can be grasped bythe user; and d. grasping the handle when in the second position andpulling the filter device so as to remove the filter device from thebody.